WEDNESDAY, July 5, 2023 (HealthDay News) — Long-acting antiretroviral therapy (LA-ART) can achieve virologic suppression among people with HIV (PWH), including those with viremia, according to a study published online July 4 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Monica Gandhi, M.D., M.P.H., from the University of California in San Francisco, and colleagues examined LA-ART in a population of PWH, including those with viremia, in an observational cohort study. Data were included for 133 PWH who were started on LA-ART: 76 had virologic suppression while using oral ART and 57 had viremia.

The researchers found that 100 percent of those with virologic suppression maintained virologic suppression. Among those with viremia, 54 of 57 had viral suppression at a median of 33 days, one showed the expected 2-log₁₀ reduction in HIV RNA level, and early virologic failure was achieved by two. By a median of 33 weeks, 97.5 percent were projected to achieve virologic suppression. The current virologic failure rate of 1.5 percent was comparable to that seen at 48 weeks across registered clinical trials.

“Although LA-ART holds considerable potential to be a game-changer for HIV treatment in patients experiencing barriers to oral ART adherence, additional data from demonstration projects will be needed to confirm sustainable benefits over time,” the authors write.

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